Newport Rotary held our Pancake Breakfast on February 10, 2018. It was a great success serving an estimated 250 hungry pancake eaters during a three hour period. Thank you to all those that came out to support Newport Rotary and have a great time.

A special thanks to the Newport Jiffy Mart, Woodlawn Care Center, Summercrest and Stetson’s (real maple syrup) for their donations helping to make our pancake breakfast a great treat. Also, thank you to Ass’t District Governor, David Saturley, the group from Orion House and all the Rotarians and friends who volunteered their time and efforts.

Started in 2017, our Newport Rotary Club began a new a new program which awards annual mini grants to Newport teachers for programs which are needed in the Newport School District. There are a maximum of five grants awarded each year with a maximum of $1,000.00 per grant. This year we awarded five mini grants of $1,000.00 each for the following programs: 1) the Washing Machine Project for the purchase of a new washer and dryer for cleaning and sanitizing towels used by the cosmetology program. The old machines will be available for homeless students to wash their clothes; 2) the VEX Robots program for the purchase of supplies to jumpstart the afterschool program to foster awareness and excitement in the fields of engineering, computer science and manufacturing; 3) the Moss Garden and Wetlands will help create a moss garden and wetlands feature in the Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center greenhouse and incorporate them into the school curriculum; 4) Have a Great Weekend Project will help expand on the Newport Food Pantry delivery of food that goes home on the weekends for children in need; and 5) expansion of the Media Center Graphic Novel Collection which allows students who read below grade level to find materials that are of high interest and visually appealing to the student.

Newport Rotary will be holding a Four Way Speech Contest again this year. Competition is open to all juniors and seniors at the Newport Middle High School. There will be cash prizes for the top four finishers. The initial competition will be held at the high school with the local finals at a Newport Rotary meeting to be scheduled in April.

Any eligible student should check with the Newport Middle High School for more details.